unlikely:GAT_00: But she'll still vote for Republicans across the board.

Independent is what republicans who are afraid to admit they're republicans call themselves.

In fairness, I still consider myself fairly Conservative, but the GOP is now firmly in the hands of radicals. The party has given up on any pretense of fiscal restraint, actively hates a fair amount of the population, and is adamant on fighting against anything resembling equity or the rights of individuals. I hung in for years, hoping to vote in sane candidates, but that voice was drowned out, and it just didn't help. I gave up my membership to the party after casting my ballot in the last Primary, and it didn't do a damn bit of good to keep Romney off the roster.

I'm not a Democrat, but if the choice is between a radical, and centerist with a plan for the future that doesn't involve shooting or jailing dissenters, then I have to go with the candidate with a sane plan for the future, and those are rarer and rarer within the ranks of the GOP. They've embraced radicalism, and still want to call "Conservative" in the same way that "Social Conservatives" hate their neighbors and want to establish a radicalized view of freedom of religion.

I want sane fiscal policy so my daughter isn't saddled with huge debts. I want sane domestic policy that doesn't demonize my neighbors for simply existing. I like our Constitutional protections, and that means I like freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, I like the right to seek legal redress, I like both the Second and First Amendments. Freedom of religion isn't about liking only ONE faith or ministry, and that means that marriage equality is sort of an issue--not all ministries have a problem with same sex couples, and if folks don't want to marry gay and lesbian couples, that's their business, but likewise the folks who do want to perform those ceremonies, we can't really stand in their way, and likewise, it comes down to equality under the law. Marriage equality IS an issue, and it's one that good Conservatism should have stood for, rather than listening to a bunch of radicals who want to impose their faith on the rest of the nation. I want sane foreign policy, and that means scaling back our adventures overseas. That means encouraging the UN to step up to the plate, instead of just saddling ourselves with more and more debt to play policeman across the globe, because Germany and France and the UK are glad to have us send our men and women overseas to secure their interests, and NOT foot any of the bill. We need to stop embracing radicals because they happen to be fighting against the folks we have problems with today, and never mind what they might turn into tomorrow. We need to fulfill the promise of the Constitution for all our citizens, not just the ones who smile pretty.

Our freedoms aren't the freedoms to be pleasant and chatty. They are the freedom to piss each other off. To disagree, even vehemently, and STILL be united as a nation. To have a public discourse that doesn't demonize the other. Right now, the GOP isn't really interested in that. Not the leadership, not the vocal rank and file, and they are embracing the most radicalized voices as their champions, and that IS a turn off. It isn't remotely Conservative. We need thoughtful approaches to taxation, rational responses to threats to our domestic tranquility, thoughtful approaches to justice. We have folks who fear education, who fear progress, who fear science, and that has never been a particularly "Conservative" process, but that embraced by radicals who fear change. Conservative thought has been about thoughtful and care in the changes our society has wrought. Careful consideration to decisions that may have unforeseen consequences. And that isn't really what the last twenty years has been about, but increasingly radical voices, who put blinders on to consequences, and then try to paint those consequences as the result of "unforeseen circumstances." But that is sort of the point of a Conservative view--that you take the time to consider the possible fallout. Like, what might happen if you back a dictator over the duly elected government, like in Iran. Like what backing religiously motivated freedom fighters against the Soviets and then abandon those freedom fighters entirely to try to organize a shattered nation like in Afghanistan. This hasn't been a hallmark of the Republican party for some time, and that really is the issue. It has been moving far and away from Conservatism, while trying to retain the title, and what is occurring that folks are starting to pay attention, and realize that by bringing radicals under the Big Tent, we've pushed away those Conservative voices, and replaced them with the shrill squawkings of maddest and loudest, and called those voices "Conservative" because the title was more palatable than "Batsh*t Crazy."

unlikely:GAT_00: But she'll still vote for Republicans across the board.

Independent is what republicans who are afraid to admit they're republicans call themselves.

Mitt Romney's camp thought he was going to win the election because he was winning independents. What they didn't realize was that the "independents" he was winning were former republicans who at least had enough self-awareness to be too ashamed to call themselves republicans.

If the few moderate Republicans want real change in the party, they need to give up this bullshiat of "registering as an Independent" (and then voting Republican).

I think the only way to retake the party from the lunatics is to blow it the fark up. Republicans who are disenfranchised need to just bite the bullet and register as Democrats. The truth is that the Democrats have moved so far to the right in the past 45 years that most of their policies are already in line with the Republicans of the past, When the Democrats obliterate the Republicans in the House, Senate, Governorships, etc for a couple of cycles, the party might be weakened enough for the sane conservatives to retake it.

Eddie Adams from Torrance:If the few moderate Republicans want real change in the party, they need to give up this bullshiat of "registering as an Independent" (and then voting Republican).

I think the only way to retake the party from the lunatics is to blow it the fark up. Republicans who are disenfranchised need to just bite the bullet and register as Democrats. The truth is that the Democrats have moved so far to the right in the past 45 years that most of their policies are already in line with the Republicans of the past, When the Democrats obliterate the Republicans in the House, Senate, Governorships, etc for a couple of cycles, the party might be weakened enough for the sane conservatives to retake it.

This illustrates a common misconception.

Registering in either party doesn't mean that you have to vote a straight ticket. If you vote a straight ticket, without considering the merits of each candidate on their own, then you have failed your civic duty. What registering does do is allow you to help choose who is on the ticket. Nothing more. It allows you to have a voice on who gets on the ballot, but that never locks you into who you vote for. Well, unless you're some sheep who believes that EVERYONE in your party is inherently better than the OTHER.

Registering Democrat would mean that I got to help choose the Democratic candidates, certainly. But at this point, given the levels of Crazy Train that has infected my former party, that really doesn't give me much control there either. For me, it means that I don't align with either DERP Brigades, and can show to BOTH parties that their platforms aren't attractive enough for me to align with one or the other. Which means that centerists on both sides have the opportunity to show me if they're worth voting for.

I DID have hopes that the Modern Whigs would get themselves together enough to become a valid third party. That was sort of negated when the Astroturf that is the TEA Party came along, and more's the pity, because they had a platform I could get behind.

Just joint the Democrats isn't really an option. I vote for the sanest candidate, no matter the party. Registering just means that would have some impact on who the party chooses, and given that I prefer a far more Conservative approach, that means that my voice is likewise going to be drowned out in the Democratic as well as Republican Primaries. Better to be in that pool of what the media likes to call "undecided" voters so that candidates can expose their positions in bolder language so that I can choose between the less DERPy of the them, and let them show their hands.

unlikely:Independent is what republicans who are afraid to admit they're republicans call themselves.

It's about a third of independents who effectively identify with the GOP. Contrariwise, it's almost exactly the same fraction of independents who effectively identify with the Democratic Party. (Linky.)

kxs401:Mitt Romney's camp thought he was going to win the election because he was winning independents. What they didn't realize was that the "independents" he was winning were former republicans who at least had enough self-awareness to be too ashamed to call themselves republicans.

Looking at the CNN exit poll data, it seems perhaps worse than that. He barely won with independent voters, 50:45... but they were only 29% of the electorate, and Democrats outnumbered Republicans 38% to 32%. That looks like the independents he was winning were the former Republicans the GOP had driven out from the name, but that many of the Democrats Obama was winning were Independents who the GOP have driven into the Democratic Party.

At this point, the Tea Party and Religious Values voters are just shy of 50% of the party. There's a slim chance there would be a messy fission of the GOP, in which case there's a near-even chance that in the procedural and legal battle the TP&RV might lose control of the brand name to the other factions, and have to make a new one; but it could go the other way around. Odds are, the TP&RV aren't going anywhere.

The "Pro-Government" Republicans look likely they could get along with that coalition. They seem unlikely to go anywhere either.

The Old School Republicans might start defecting to the Democrats, but they have a problem: they're going to be the most extreme right-wing faction in that tent. In so far as they bring big money in their own pockets, a few may be able to get a few elected as "Blue Dog" democrats, and they might be able to have some influence there. However, they're going to be outnumbered by factions more to the left; they'd at most be moderating influences. The best they'd likely do is keep the tax rates from becoming punitive and business regulations unnecessarily draconian. They seem unlikely to be happy with their welcome. They honestly might have a better chance throwing the money behind the Libertarian party -- if they focus on regionalelections in 2014, and if they can accept that in the short term the effect will be acting more as "spoilers". The real difficulty is that libertarians don't tend much saner than the GOP these days, with little principled objection to racism by non-government actors (and apparently principled objection to government attempts to counteract such), leaving what seems a significant chance the more racist Tea Party Crazies might follow into the Libertarians if the GOP becomes non-viable.

But the "Window Shopper" Republicans? Looking at the exit polls, and comparing it to the Kaiser data, shows how remarkably few Republicans voted for Obama, when so many "Window Shopper" Republicans were leaning that way. It's conceivable that Romney's brilliant performance at the end of the campaign herded them back into the fold (reading SF broadens your imagination), but it seems far more likely that the "Window Shoppers" are not so much going anywhere as already gone -- no longer identifying as Republicans.

Are moderate Republicans like Megs here gonna leave the party or are they gonna kick out the social conservative lunatics who've hijacked the party?

Moderate Republicans are in no position to call the shots, and they haven't been for well over a decade if not longer. They get to whine and moan about how the party left them, but do you notice they never actually do anything? Take this story for example... an ultimatum that takes four years to kick in isn't exactly threatening.

Given that she is persona non grata with the Republicans/conservatives, why does she think her wishy-washy ultimatum matters one bit?

It's funny that some conservatives think if they jettison the crazy crap and only try to sell the GOP by their economic plans that their side will become more appealing. Somehow they forget that they had to bring in the crazies in order to win as their economic plans are horrible and go over like a lead balloon.

jso2897:If we had a betting pool on prominent Republicans jumping ship, I'd plop a couple of bucks down on Chris Christie.

My money's on Jon Huntsman.

On topic, Meghan McCain is only of the barest interest because of who her father is, that she is apparently somewhat sane (which is a big deal in the GOP), and her giant sweater puppies (her overall chubbiness aside). But let's get real. She isn't running for office or setting an agenda or anything. She's just famous for being a Republican curiosity. If she were to leave the party, then she would cease to be interesting. She would just be a moderate-conservative celebrity child who isn't thin enough or polished enough to be a TV host.

I like Meghan, and just not physically. I hope that she can talk some sense into the GOP because I will not vote for any Republican candidate anywhere on the ballot so long as they cater to Theocrats, bigots, homophobes,anti-intellectualists, and Teahadists. Last go-round, I voted Gary Johnson and straight Democrat for the others...as well as marriage equality and pot decriminalization.

This country needs a rational, secular, and truly fiscally conservative party (and not that fake crap we've been getting for more than a decade). Perhaps people like Ms. McCain can help make that happen.

hubiestubert:Registering just means that would have some impact on who the party chooses, and given that I prefer a far more Conservative approach, that means that my voice is likewise going to be drowned out in the Democratic as well as Republican Primaries.

Hubie, I respect that you're trying to be rational, but you need to accept something: the Democrats ARE conservatives in the big picture. Honestly, even if you really do fall objectively to the right of them on a majority of issues (which I doubt), you probably have a better shot at getting someone you find palatable on the Dem ticket than the Republican one these days, and with less of a Devil's Bargain to boot.

I am an independent who is registered as a Republican. That way I can monkey with their primaries. Seems to me shutting yourself out of being able to vote in primary elections is not going to do much good.

Democrats, their primaries are not as interesting to vote in, at least where I live.

abb3w:JohnnyC: Independents is also what people like myself call themselves... people who aren't (and in some cases never have been) affiliated with or a member of any political party. Try not to be a douchebag to all independents by calling us all Republicans. I haven't voted for a Republican for a very long time and as it currently stands I don't see a Republican emerging that is worth voting for in the future either.abb3w: It's about a third of independents who effectively identify with the GOP. Contrariwise, it's almost exactly the same fraction of independents who effectively identify with the Democratic Party. (Linky.)

So, you're not a "Disguised Republican", but a "Disguised Democrat". (I probably fall in the same category.)

No. Not a disguised Democrat either. I'm not a member of any party... end of story. I vote for who I want to vote for. I vote for who I think will do the best job. That doesn't mean Democrat by default. I do not agree with all the things Democrats stand for, but given a choice between a Republican or a Democrat, I'm way more likely to vote for a Democrat because voting for a Republican is voting against my own self interests. I'm an atheist. That alone puts me at odds with Republicans who seem bent on legislating their religious beliefs upon me. I'm not a racist or a bigot and again this conflicts with the Republican party as a whole. I would sooner cut foreign and defense spending than cut domestic spending (I believe that we should be investing more in ourselves than investing in destroying others). So really there is no place for me at the Republican table. There is no common ground outside of "we're all Americans" and sometimes I wonder if Republicans even share that as they seem to be Republicans first and American second.

Essentially what it comes down to is that there is only one major party that I find common ground with. That doesn't make me a Democrat in disguise, it makes me an independent with unfortunately limited choices. On a local level I tend to vote for smaller, less influential parties... but on a national/federal scale, I am offered few alternatives. The saying, "half a loaf is better than no loaf", comes to mind.

6. She didn't start off a Republican! Despite her father being a household name and Meghan growing up in the spotlight, she was determined to make it on her own and buck "all labels and boxes and stereotypes." The strong-minded teen registered as an Independent when she was 18 and voted for John Kerry in the 2004 election. McCain has openly voiced her views on sex education and birth control, and chastised conservatives for hypocrisy regarding abortion, "They go on and on about how evil and wrong abortion is, but don't like to talk about how easy it is to not get pregnant," she said.

Now, I know that hooters can subside when some weight loss kicks in, but given her mammoth mammaries we currently enjoy only in their teaserific cleavaged form and chubby-not-fat figure, I think 30 lbs of weight loss would give us a universally fappable specimen with still-full tatas to boot.

On another note: anyone that is as despised by Ann Coulter as much as Meghan is, has to be doing something right. Little Orphan Annie is like Bill Kristol in that if she has a hate on for someone, they really have to be doing something great...

unlikely:Independent is what republicans who are afraid to admit they're republicans call themselves.

Independents is also what people like myself call themselves... people who aren't (and in some cases never have been) affiliated with or a member of any political party. Try not to be a douchebag to all independents by calling us all Republicans. I haven't voted for a Republican for a very long time and as it currently stands I don't see a Republican emerging that is worth voting for in the future either. All I'm saying is that before you start swinging a bat around like that, be sure you're hitting the right people. At the moment it seems like you're taking wild swings and hitting both allies and adversaries.

Mikey1969:The Right just needs to dump the truly venomous assholes that have hijacked it.

That would be difficult in any circumstances, but it has become almost impossible because of the Conservative Entertainment Complex that some of the saner Republicans (like Frum) are complaining about. It's not in the interests of Fox News, Rush Limbaugh etc. to have a rational, reasonable GOP; there's an embarrassing amount of money to be made catering to the lunatic fringe.

If you're a woman and you're still a Republican, even after everything they've done in the last few years, then you're never going to leave. "If he hits me just one more time, I'm going to leave him. I mean it this time!"

President Obama is using a Cold War-era mind-control technique known as "Delphi" to coerce Americans into accepting his plan for a United Nations-run communist dictatorship in which suburbanites will be forcibly relocated to cities. That's according to a four-hour briefing delivered to Republican state senators at the Georgia state Capitol last month.[2.bp.blogspot.com image 545x388]

as much as I would LOVE to give Alabama credit for this, unfortunately it says "Georgia" right on the tin

/Atlanta-area resident//even the local, heavily conservative-leaning news is laughing at them about this

I encourage lots of Republicans to become Independents. Then, in 2014 and 2016, the GOP brass can have lots of fun ignoring the fact that the vast majority of new Independents are just ashamed Republicans. And then the rest of us can have lots of fun laughing at them when their internal models fail.

Soup4Bonnie:I don't get the attraction to her. She's a fat idiot with a lot of money and a Senator daddy. It's not like she is the bright future of the GOP. She's about as deep as the kiddy pool at the YMCA.

She's the GOP's plan for appealing to young people. Their whole plan is: 'Hey young people! Look at this pretty, young, rich, white person (who is also an asshole). If they want the same thing that the rich, old white people (who are also assholes, only moreso) want, our agenda can't be all bad, right? Vote Republican! Still not sold? Well what if we said the pretty, young, rich, white person only hates gays a little? Does that make it more sympathetic? No? Well then I'm going to need to see 3 forms of identification before you vote.'

I know I'm not the first to say it, but registering as an independent is irrelevant when you're just going to vote Republican anyway.It's like breaking up with an abusive husband but still stopping by to screw him whenever he calls. Pointless.

Registering in either party doesn't mean that you have to vote a straight ticket.

Of course not, but severely dwindling Republican registrations along with increasing Democratic registrations would highlight the problem and garner some media attention that would be harder to ignore than having registered Republicans voting for Dems or simply staying home. Hell, if moderate conservatives could influence the Democrats to move just a little further right, they'd be squarely where the Republicans used to be and it would be liberals who would find themselves looking for a party that represents them.

Personally, I like to take the opposite approach. I'm the leftiest leftist libtard who ever libbed a lib... since I live in a solidly blue state, I register Republican and vote for the least electable radicals during the primaries, but I'm kind of a dick.